THE BEER NUT: Take a Seacoast 'Beercation'

Wednesday

Jun 14, 2017 at 11:25 AM

Norman Miller Daily News Staff @Norman_MillerMW

It’s finally vacation season, and that means time to get your liver and cooler ready for what I call a "beercation."

There are many great options in New England – western Massachusetts has some great spots; Portland, Maine is world class; and there are numerous hotels in Vermont where you can stay that have breweries a stone’s throw away.

One destination that often gets overlooked is the Seacoast Region of New Hampshire. There are more and more breweries opening in this beautiful area, and the beer scene is outstanding.

I recently took a trip up there with some friends, and visited five breweries – some new to me, and an old favorite.

The first stop was at the Throwback Brewery, 7 Hobbs Road, North Hampton. I’ve been drinking Throwback for a few years, but I’ve only visited the brewery once, and that’s before they expanded and opened a gastropub.

The beer, as always, was tasty. They use as many local ingredients as possible, and they have a wide range of beers, from the Donkey-Hote IPA to the Spicy Bohemian, a pilsner brewed with jalapenos.

But what stood out was the fact that the food was as good as the beer. I had an excellent porchetta sandwich, while my friends raved about the Korean wings and the veggie burger, respectively.

Our second stop was at Earth Eagle Brewings, 165 High St., Portsmouth. If you’re a steady reader of this space, you know my love of Earth Eagle. It is easily one of my all-time favorite taprooms.

They had remodeled since the last time I was there. Earth Eagle is small, but they somehow found a way to rearrange things and make it seem roomy. As usual, they had an eclectic list of beers – a pilsner/gruit hybrid and a beer that used molasses instead of barley malt, were just two of the offerings.

Liar’s Bench, 459 Islington St., Portsmouth, is a new brewery. They were about to celebrate their first birthday the day we visited. The location is a little difficult to find – unlike most breweries that have huge signs, or at least signs you can see, Liar’s Bench didn’t have much on the outside to indicate it was a brewery.

However, once inside, there’s no doubt they brew beer – you could smell it in the air. The brewery is in the open, not far from the bar and taps.

As for the beers, I really enjoyed them. Bru Ha Ha, basically an ale version of a Marzen, was quite good, as was the Bench Beer, a grisette. They specialize in different types of sausages, which would go well with their beers.

Great Rhythm Brewing Company, 105 Bartlett St., Portsmouth, is completely different than Liar’s Bench. Where Liar’s Bench seemed to specialize in more classic styles, Great Rhythm is all about the hops. Every beer on the menu was a India pale ale or double IPA, except for one very hoppy pale ale.

The beers were good – they were along the lines of the modern juicy and hazy IPAs that everyone seems to be seeking lately. The location is good, right on the water, and the space is huge. The one negative was, at the time of the visit, they could not serve full pints. For now they are only allowed to serve 4-ounce tasters.

The final stop of the way was the Stoneface Brewing Company, 436 Shattuck Way, Newington. I’ve been there before, but that was soon after they started brewing. They’ve since moved to a larger portion of the building and added a full restaurant.

They’ve also expanded their lineup. They still have their excellent IPAs, but now they have such beers as a kolsch (which I brought a growler of), as well as a couple of German-style Berliner weisses. They’re selection is really well-rounded.

The food menu looked good, but we just split a couple of orders of fries. They were the best fries I’ve had in years.

There are numerous other breweries in the area (Portsmouth Brewery, Red Hook Brewing Company, Smuttynose Brewing Company), which makes the Seacoast region a great weekend destination. All the breweries are relatively close to one another, and you could easily visit the majority of them in one weekend. If you love beer and visiting breweries, a tour of New Hampshire's Seacoast Region is not to be missed.

Norman Miller is a Daily News staff writer. Email him at nmiller@wickedlocal.com or call 508-626-3823. Check out the Beer Nut blog at http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/section/blogs01?taxid=646&start=2. Follow him on Twitter @RealBeerNutand on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerBeerNut